5G: MTN Pays Balance of $273.6m for License

MTN Nigeria has paid balance of the $273.6 million 5G license fee to the federal government, even before the February 24, deadline, according to information  on the website of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Recall MTN and Mafab Communications were awarded slots for the 3.5 gigahertz (Ghz) Fifth Generation (5G) technology spectrum after emerging winners of the auction held by NCC.

On the NCC’s website, MTN and Mafab Communications were listed among those who had paid their licence fees in full and had collected licence documents for the respective telecommunications undertaking before the era of reclassification of Licences into Class and Individual licences.

MTN was the highest bidder at the auction followed by Mafab communications limited. While Mafab added $11,120,000 million while bidding, MTN Nigeria added $15,900,000.

As stated on the NCC website, the licence secured by MTN is in the individual category.

An Individual Licence is a type of authorization in which the terms, conditions and obligations, scope and limitations are specific to the service being provided.

Process of licensing can take the form of Auction, “First Come First Served”, “Beauty Contest” or a standard administrative procedure, etc

The 5G auction was organised on November 13, 2021 by NCC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

Isa Pantami, minister for communication and Digital Economy had said the 5G network will help promote economic development in Nigeria as digital technology will aid the finance and other sectors in the country.